Moroccan diaspora
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| ~ 38M | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Morocco
|
33,403,000 |
 France
|
1,514,000 |
 Israel
|
1,000,000 |
 Spain
|
792,158 |
 Belgium
|
600,000 |
 Italy
|
524,775 |
 Netherlands
|
385,761 |
 Germany
|
140,000 |
 United States
|
113,544 |
 Canada
|
100,000 |
 United Arab Emirates
|
100,000 |
 United Kingdom
|
70,000 |
 Algeria
|
63,000 |
 Saudi Arabia
|
60,000 |
 Libya
|
50,000 |
 Sweden
|
40,000 |
 Norway
|
30,000 |
 Denmark
|
26,000 |
 Egypt
|
18,000 |
 Qatar
|
9,000 |
 Switzerland
|
7,270 |
 Russia
|
3,400 |
 Australia
|
2,500 |
 South Africa
|
2,100 |
 Ivory Coast
|
1,800 |
| Languages | |
| Darija, Berber, Hebrew, French, Spanish, Italian, English, Dutch, Swedish | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam, Judaism, Christianity, other. | |
The Moroccan diaspora consists of emigrants from Morocco and their descendants. Of the estimated 5.6 million Moroccans living abroad, 5.1 million live in Europe; the remainder are distributed throughout the Americas (including North America and Latin America), Australia, Africa (in particular West Africa), and the countries of the Arab World.
Europe has long been a destination for Moroccan migration, with Moroccans arriving in some countries at least as early as the twentieth century. The largest concentration of Moroccans outside Morocco is in France, which has reportedly over 1.9 million Moroccans, and the Netherlands and Belgium (about 0.7 million Moroccans). In the Netherlands, Moroccans are the third largest group of non-western immigrants after people from the former Dutch colony of Indonesia and the Turks. In Belgium, Moroccans now form even the largest group of non-western immigrants. At over 4% of Belgium's population, the Moroccan population in Belgium is the highest percentagewise in Europe.
There are also large Moroccan communities in Spain (about 767,784 Moroccans), Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. Many Moroccans have also settled for quite a long time in the United States, Canada, Brazil and other Arab countries, most notably Libya. Some other Moroccans have immigrated to other parts of Africa where they have prospered financially.
The majority of the Moroccan diaspora are Muslims, with a sizeable minority of Jews and Christians. The vast majority of Moroccan Jews are now living in Israel.
The Moroccan diaspora is historically composed of guest workers. Because of the economic opportunities, many Moroccans have worked in the Arab World, most notably in Arab Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait among others.
Author of the newly released book Moroccans abroad. Identity and cultural diversity, Professor Bekouchi looks at the five million Moroccans living in the four corners of the globe, of whom 300,000 represent the elite. For him, if these Moroccans abroad could be listened to and motivated by the Moroccan policy makers, they could create wonders. “They already exert some influence on negotiation strategies and on the partnership between Morocco and their adopted country”, highlights the author. This goes back to the history of the emigration of Moroccans to Europe and elsewhere. He recalls that it was at the beginning of the last century that the first Moroccan mass emigrations began. The toughest and most obedient natives were chosen to engage in World War I or to fill in for French farmers and laborers detained on the front line. Yet, the veterans have been too little compensated. Today still, they earn barely a fifth of that of their French counterparts.
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Wikipedia